Page 9 - The Digital Carpenter, Vol. 1 Issue 2

LIZETTE DELGADO-POLANCO, POLITICAL DIRECTOR
It is time to denounce hate and negative political rhetoric in the United States.
It is time to stop dividing Americans based on race, class and how much money they have in their stock market account.
It is time to come together as Americans for the common good of improving our country and its people because when one of us succeeds, we all succeed.
At the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, we are making a daily e ort in every State that we represent to ensure that our Union brings together people for a common good, instead of focusing on what divides us.
So, we’re making every e ort we can on a daily basis to be more diverse and inclusive in every State that we represent. We believe local, diverse people should work on local projects because this puts money in their pockets and boosts the local economy. It puts money in local and State tax co ers for vital services like education, public works and social services. It brings people pride to see what they built in their community and gives them a desire to give back.
When we are together – no matter our race, class or culture – everyone wins...
This year, the NRCC started the Shades of the Trade Committee to increase the recruitment of people of color and women in our Union. This committee: develops solutions to increase our minority demographics; engages in community involvement/coalition building; and showcases our commitment to all working people. Members of this committee conduct frequent outreach with minority organizations in urban cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Bu alo and Jersey City to educate organizations/individuals about: the good things our Union is doing in communities throughout the Northeast; the skilled, no-debt training we provide to all workers; and the good career, pay and bene ts that a career in carpentry provides.
You’ll read examples of our work throughout this edition of The Digital Carpenter, but in this message, I really wanted to discuss how we have completely refreshed our political strategy to ensure not only that elected o cial candidates we support hold the same values that we do, but also to take a bottom-up approach to get the community behind the projects and issues we are ghting for.
One example of this is our recent work with New Jersey Working Families Alliance (NJWFA) in Jersey City, NJ. On January 18th, the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters (NRCC) joined New Jersey organizations, elected o cials, Jersey City religious leaders, small businesses and members of the general public at the New Jersey Working Families Community Forum in Jersey City.
The event brought together City leaders to discuss the need for building developers and their contractors to employ Jersey City workers on existing/future development and infrastructure projects in the City. Since July, our Council has worked with NJWFA on a community relations outreach program to help educate Jersey City residents about the business and employment practices of the companies developing the new Park and Shore residential/retail development at 75 Park Lane in Jersey City. Structure Tech, the subcontractor responsible for construction of the concrete super structure at Park and Shore, is employing approximately 100 workers from outside of New Jersey and is failing to pay the area wage standards, health and retirement bene ts to its workers.
Our coordinated campaign with NJWFA helped us to directly reach and solicit the involvement of various Jersey City citizens, o cials and organizations to raise greater awareness for this exploitation of workers.
This type of grassroots outreach in Jersey City is just the beginning for the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters and it’s one way that we are working to bring people together to ght for a common cause and make a di erence. Join our cause today by visiting our website or Facebook page to educate yourself on the issues and get involved.
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